By George Ferguson/Havre Daily News Sports/gferguson@havredailynews.com
The Havre High trophy case is getting a little crowded with all of the hardware being won by the HHS wrestling team this season.
On Saturday night, the No. 1-ranked Blue Ponies brought home yet another first-place trophy, this time from the Cut Bank Booster Club Invitational.
Havre scored 288 team points to easily capture the team title. The Ponies also crowned five individual champions. Host Cut Bank finished a distant second with 199 points, and Conrad was third with 186.5 points. Chinook and Harlem finished in 15th and 16th place, respectively, while Chester and Big Sandy went 21st and 22nd
Havre's amazing depth showed through early in the two-day tournament. On Friday, the Ponies advanced nine wrestlers into Saturday's semifinals. By Saturday night, the Ponies had five champions and placed 14 wrestlers overall, including several junior varsity competitors.
"All the kids wrestled really well this weekend," said Havre high head coach Scott Filius. "This was a deep tournament with some very good teams. But our depth was a big factor this weekend. When you have so many kids wrestling that well, you are going to do pretty good as a team."
Sophomore Evan Hinebauch continued to keep his undefeated season alive by capturing another 160-pound championship. Hinebauch dominated the competition, pinning Pete Betcher of Choteau in the finals.
Matt Schnittgen and Mike Hipple also had outstanding weekends. Hipple defeated Choteau's Mike Rich in the championship of the 130-pound weight class and Schnittgen dominated the heavyweights, knocking off Tommy Church of Colombia Falls in the final match.
Sophomore Clint Bradbury and senior Bill Zuelke were also undefeated this weekend. Bradbury pinned Dallas Andrews of St. Ignatius in the 112-pound final and Zuelke won the 215-pound title with a 5-1 victory over Anthony Boyce of Browning.
"This was a big tournament for Bill Zuelke," Filius said. "Winning a championship in a tough tournament like this will do a lot for his confidence later in the season. It was a good weekend for Bill.
"Clint Bradbury also wrestled really well," he added. "He was in a tough weight class and he fought really hard. He had a couple of really nice wins this weekend."
The Ponies also had two wrestlers reach the finals. The ongoing battle between Cut Bank's Alex Calvi and Chad Seely culminated with another classic match in the 189-pound final. The two wrestled into overtime before Calvi finally put Seely away in the extra period. Sophomore Beau LaSalle reached the 125-pound final before losing a hard-fought 9-6 decision to Conrad's Colby Johnson.
The Ponies also got third-place finishes from Chad Ranes, Billy Wagner, Mike Sutherland and Stephen Brown. Ranes defeated teammate Chad Hansen in the consolation finals, while Wagner knocked off Chinook's Cameron Overcast. Brown was competing for the HHS JV team at heavyweight.
"Chad Ranes had a really good weekend," Filius said. "He had to really fight back to take third. I thought he did a really good job for us."
Sophomore Nate Harada finished fifth at 119 pounds and Dallas Thompson was fifth at 152 pounds. Shane Boucher finished sixth for the HHS JV squad at 112 pounds.
The Ponies will back on the road on Friday when they travel to Miles City for the prestigious Cowboy Invitational.
Cut Bank Booster Club Invitational
Team scores
1. Havre 288; 2. Cut Bank 199; 3. Conrad 186_; 4. Malta 146; 5. Choteau 136; 6. Columbia Falls 129; 7. Glasgow 127; 8. Frenchtown 104; 9. St. Ignatius 92; 10. Fort Benton 81; 11. Shelby 74; 12. Renegades 73; 13. Lewistown 72; 14. Cascade 55; 15. Chinook 53; 16. (tie) Fairfield 44; (tie) Harlem 44; 18. Boulder 39; 19. Simms 37 20. Poplar 36; 21. Chester 29; 22. Big Sandy 28; 23. Browning 29; 24. Eureka 25; 25. Cut Bank JV 21; 26. Heart Butte 7; 27. Valier 6.
Championship matches
98 - Ryan Leonard, Simms, dec. Josh Stedman, Fre, 12-0.
105 - Egan Black, CB, dec. Beau Nordahl, Fre, 9-7.
112 - Clint Bradbury, Hav, pinned Dallas Andrews, SI, 1:24.
119 - Brandon Stedman, Fre, dec. Aric Tarr, CF, 3-2.
125 - Colby Johnson, Con, dec. Beau LaSalle, Havre, 9-6.
130 - Mike Hipple, Hav, tech fall Michael Rich, Cho, 5:09.
135 - Jason French, Lew, pinned Jeremy Johnson, Gla, 1:59.
140 - Caleb Lockyer, Con, pinned Alec LeFurgey, FB, 1:43.
145 - Michael French, Malta, maj. dec. Daniel Winkowitsch, CB, 10-1.
152 - Trent Zempel, Con, dec. Ross Mosher, Cho, 14-11.
160 - Evan Hinebauch, Hav, pinned Pete Betcher, Cho, 2:57.
171 - Tyler French, Malta, dec. Bryce Picard, SI, 6-1.
189 - Alex Calvi, CB, dec. Chad Seely, Hav, 2-0 in OT.
215 - Bill Zuelke, Hav, dec. Anthony Boyce, Bro, 5-1.
275 - Matt Schnittgen, Hav, pinned Tommy Church, CF, 2:53.
3rd-4th place
98 - Chad Ranes, Hav, pinned Chad Hansen, Ren, :55.
105 - Billy Wagner, Hav, pinned Cameron Overcast, Chi 2:26.
112 - Jake Halmes, Cas, pinned Josh Harrison, Cb, 2:16.
119 - Justin Jones, Con, pinned Tel Colburn, Malta, 4:09.
125 - Leo Pattison, Gla, dec. Buck Lunak, CB, 2-0.
130 - Matt Ayers, Pop, dec. Donny Ferrin, FF, 6-0.
135 - Mike Sutherland, Hav, pinned Nick May, FB, 1:59.
140 - Curtis Darrah, Malta, dec. Cole Plouffe, Gla, 6-3.
145 - Dustin Scotten, Lew, dec. Ryan Buck, CF, 7-4.
152 - Tom Flynn, She, dec. Gatlin Paine, Eur, 11-7.
160 - Dan Murr, Con, dec. Jake Bosley, SI, 5-1.
171 - Brian Neill, Cho, dec. Bobby Greenwood, CB, 5-2.
189 - Skippy Sims, Malta, dec. Logan Tweet, FB, 8-2.
215 - Shane Gagnon, Che, pinned Alex Thornton, BS, 2:47.
275 - Stephen Brown, Ren, pinned Drew Koepke, CB, 4:50.
5th-6th place
98 - Scotty Schlosser, Con, tech fall Chase Dirden, Har, 3:48.
105 - Bryce Gernaat, Con, dec. Dillon Martini, Bou, 7-0.
112 - Tyson Nelson, CF, maj. dec. Shane Boucher, Ren, 14-1.
119 - Nate Harada, Hav, pinned Dylan Isakson, Cho, :50.
125 - Matt Finley, Chi, dec. Tad Lightner, Cho, 5-0.
130 - Cory Rodda, SI won by injury default over Keyvin Walter, CF.
135 - T.J. Wanken, She, pinned Colin Blaskovich, Bou, 2:05.
140 - Casey Barber, Chi, pinned Tyrell Yttredahl, CB, 3:32.
145 - Daniel Madel, Cho, dec. Mitch McIntyre, Gla, 9-1.
152 - Dallas Thompson, Hav, dec. Riley DeVries, Che, 6-2.
160 - Jared Pankratz, Malta, dec. Brent Thacker, She, 2-1.
171 - Chris Tacke, FF, dec. Tyler Malnaa, Gla, 3-0.
189 - Morgan Norgard, Pop, pinned Jake Whitehead, Cas, 2:29.
215 - Jerry Murch, Gla, dec. Jesse Anderson, FB, 6-4.
275 - Evan Azure, Har, pinned Chance Horn, HB, :41.
